Suvojit (Suvo) Bandopadhyaya

As a student both living and working in Waimairi Village accommodation, Suvo has the opportunity to help make uni life better and more exciting for fellow residents.

‘The highlight has definitely been the community and the quietness in Waimairi village. Plus I got to meet so many international students from different parts of the world and make friends with people from diverse backgrounds,’ he says.

‘In addition to this, Waimairi has hosted lot of events to keep residents engaged and feel included in the community.’

Waimairi Village in particular was the hall of residence that appealed to him most as an international postgraduate student.

‘If you’re a postgrad looking for university accommodation, I’d definitely recommend Waimairi, it really gives you that homely feeling and is very quiet generally, good environment for studies.’

Originally from Kolkata in India, Suvo had completed master’s study in media governance before deciding to travel overseas for doctoral studies.

‘It’s just fascinating, I’m doing research on social media and as a communication student I just find it amazing to study more about it,’ he says. ‘Canterbury gave me that option that I couldn’t find in my home country. After I finish my PhD I intend to become a lecturer and stay in academics.’

Suvo recommends Media and Communications study here at UC to other students, because of his experiences so far balancing research with other opportunities.

‘There’s so much opportunity out here so that’s really the good thing, that I can participate and do other things as well other than my research work.

‘UC offers pretty diverse options and I think UC does give you that option to do something more apart from just studies, so come to UC not just to study but to excel in all fields.’